Discussion on the equivalent conductivity and resistance of stress corrosion cracks in eddy current simulations

This study evaluates the numerical modeling of stress corrosion cracks from the viewpoint of eddy current simulations. Five stress corrosion cracks are artificially introduced into austenitic stainless steel plates measuring 25 mm in thickness, and then eddy current inspections are conducted to gather eddy current signals and destructive tests performed to confirm the true profiles of the cracks. The cracks are carefully introduced so as not to cluster, and the data obtained enables discussion of the modeling of a single crack quantitatively. Subsequent numerical simulations model each crack as a rectangular region with a fixed width and uniform conductivity, and evaluate the equivalent width and conductivity suitable for modeling the crack. The evaluation reveals that it is not reasonable to correlate the size of a crack and only its width or conductivity, and larger cracks tend to have greater resistance, which is defined as the width divided by conductivity. Furthermore, the values of width and conductivity depend also on the exciting frequency and probe used; however, the resistance remains almost unchanged by the experimental condition.